All over California, school districts are beginning to install energy storage. Mountain View Los Altos (MVLA) High School District was the first district in the state to combine energy storage with solar power generation and electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. At ENGIE Storage, we have years of experience helping K-12 school districts generate cost savings and improve the economics of sustainability measures with our GridSynergy® energy storage systems and software platform. We recently sat down with Mike Mathiesen, associate superintendent of business services at MVLA, to talk about how school districts can benefit from energy storage.
Q: The MVLA school district is located in the heart of Silicon Valley. What makes it unique in terms of the community’s willingness to embrace new technologies for a more sustainable future?
A: Our community expects sustainability measures. Students and parents advocate for it. At our campuses we see electric vehicles, recycling, rainwater harvesting, and other green initiatives, so there is a lot of support for anything we do to supplement those efforts. The community really pays attention to how we’re using our resources, and we try to make those choices wisely and responsibly.
Q: How did you find out about energy storage, and how did the project start?
A: Sybil Cramer, a community advocate and member of MVLA’s Go Green Sustainability Committee, found ENGIE Storage through the Green California Schools Summit when she was researching EV charging. At the time, they were known as Green Charge. They held a workshop that showed us the basics of energy storage and how it mitigates the demand charge impact of EV charging. They also helped us acquire funding to install charging stations coupled with energy storage at both our campuses at no cost to the district.
Q: Why did you decide to couple the energy storage with EV charging and solar power generation?
A: Once we started to understand the mechanics of energy storage, we realized it was a great fit for supporting green initiatives. We already had solar panels installed, and energy storage was a way to pull everything together. By storing energy from the grid at night, when energy is less expensive, and when solar panels are productive during the day, and then discharging it from the GridSynergy system during peak demand times, we reduce demand charges and lower our bill from Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) without adjusting our usage patterns. It’s also more sustainable, because we reduce the amount of energy drawn from the grid during peak times when less clean sources of energy are in use.
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